


Sleepy Hollow

by Nefertiti1052 (Succubusphan)



Category: Phandom/The Fantastic Foursome (YouTube RPF)
Genre: Blood, Dead People, Decapitation, Happy Ending, M/M, No Smut, Phil is the headless rider, Spooky, inspired by the 1999 sleepy hollow movie but changed a lot, yes i mean it happy ending
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-30
Updated: 2020-10-30
Packaged: 2021-03-09 03:46:53
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,756
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27278209
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Succubusphan/pseuds/Nefertiti1052
Summary: Young constable Daniel Howell is sent to investigate a series of murders in Sleepy Hollow but with a little investigation, he finds that the story is much bigger than that.
Relationships: Dan Howell/Phil Lester
Comments: 6
Kudos: 18
Collections: Im-PROMPT-u Phandom Creator Challenge 2020





	Sleepy Hollow

The town of Sleepy Hollow was rumoured to be cursed. Travelers were advised against entering for it could cost them their lives, but some believed that to be only old wives tales. 

Almost at the turn of the century, young constable Daniel Howell, was appointed to investigate a series of murders in the area where the victims were said to be decapitated but no other clues had been found. Being a man of science, Master Howell, collected his tools and journals and fetched a carriage to Sleepy Hollow in order to solve the mystery once and for all and bring justice to the deceased. 

His brown curls shined in the sunlight as he left London, his ever black outfit seemed to absorb all light and contrasted beautifully with his white lace shirt and fair skin; one could have mistaken him for an expensive porcelain doll. The further the carriage got from the city, the worst the weather got. First, there was a heavy storm, then came the cold and eventually the fog settled all around him as he finally exited the carriage by the town’s gates; it was as if the land itself was warning him to turn back, but he refused to believe in such nonsense, so he walked to the nearest inn and rented a room. 

As luck might have it, most of the towners were gathered together in a celebration to raise their heavy spirits, hosted by none other than the richest man in the land, Baltus Van Tassel.

After introducing himself and announcing his business, he found that the people there didn’t seem so interested in solving the mysterious deaths and merely tried to put the horrific events behind them.

Mr Van Tassel told Daniel about a headless rider that haunted the town, appearing always at night and decapitating people before collecting their heads and leaving. Daniel found this information laughable, of course, but he was wound to change his mind when he witnessed the next murder. 

As he was leaving the inn, to collect some information on the victims, he saw the headless man with his own eyes, slicing at the Doctor’s head as if it was an apple before collecting it and riding at full force towards Daniel who merely attempted to run into church, considering his survival chances to be higher amongst a group of people. The rider stopped short on the edge of the consecrated ground, apparently unable to enter. Feeling a bit more confident, Daniel slowly walked towards him but stayed out of reach - or so he thought. In a swift movement he found himself pulled forward by the collar of his shirt. He thought he was about to lose his life, but the headless man merely cupped his cheek and traced his fingers down Daniel’s neck and into his shirt, making him shiver both in fear and delight, before someone in the distance shot the rider’s horse. 

Turning away from Daniel, the rider got back on his horse, collecting another head and a glowing carved pumpkin and rode towards the forest. Overcome with fear, he body finally gave in and his world turned black. 

\---

Miss Katrina Van Tassel, daughter of the town landlord and banker, was watching over him when he came to. She had watched him during the night, afraid that the headless rider would take him. Not his head, but him. 

She told him about the man that was once pacific, forced into war by more powerful men - the men of Sleepy Hollow. Young Philip Lester had only lived to 25, when he finally got enough of fighting other people’s wars and turned against the leaders. He searched for them in their houses, as they worked or tended to their affairs and killed them one by one until a group of those remaining in power closed up on him and decapitated him with his own sword, burying him in the forest. 

It was that same day that the fog fell upon the town and strange things started to happen. They might have gotten rid of the man but they didn’t win, they were cursed instead. When Daniel asked why he had been spared, Katrina smiled and simply pointed out that Daniel had not wronged the man or tried to hurt him or stop him in his thirst for blood. She also had the theory that the rider wanted him. 

At first, he found the theory laughable, but when Katrina showed him old paintings and sketches of Philip Lester when he had been alive, Daniel was stunned into silence. No matter who made a portrait of him, they always colored his eyes in a breathtakingly beautiful piercing blue. He often sported a gentle smile but his stare hid the sadness in his soul. 

Katrina and Daniel rode into the forest in search of the grave of the fallen soldier. They were able to find it by following the trail of unusually large horse hoof prints. The fog surrounding the scorched tree that marked his resting place made it almost impossible for them to see where they were going, causing Daniel to trip and fall face first into the roots. A trail of blood seeped out of the bark flowing like a crimson river and splattering onto Daniel’s face with every hit of his axe.

After a few hits, he was able to open a small hole and see where the fluid was coming from. The smell of death hit him first, then, he saw unblinking eyes. The eyes of those who had wronged Philip and had now paid the price with their life. Before he could extract any of them, the roots twisted and turned away leaving a gap big enough for Philip to crush through them with his horse and stand beside them briefly before he rode to town to claim his next victim. They dug the place where his head was supposed to be but found none. Then it dawned on them, this was the reason the soldier kept on collecting heads, he was searching for his own. 

As they rode back to town, they crossed paths with the rider, who stopped beside them and vowed before Daniel. 

“Phillip,” he said causing the rider to flinch. “I will find your head and return it to you. That way you’ll be able to rest in peace.”

The rider gave Daniel a single red rose and rode back to his grave. 

\--

Katrina offered him a room in her house, claiming that she had remembered something. Apparently when she was a small child, she’d seen her mother hiding something behind the bricks in the back of their chimney. Daniel and Katrina both agreed to wait until the town meeting the following day to investigate. 

It was no easy task but upon fracturing the bricks in the chimney, they found an oddly shaped skull inside a velvet bag. 

Katrina cried into Daniel’s arms, realizing that her father had been implicated in destroying Philip’s life as well as sealing the fate of the entire town. Daniel reminded her that if they returned the head, there was a chance that the town would be spared and that he was in no danger with the rider, so he would be the one to take on the task.

By the time they arrived at the church, the meeting was dispersing as people ran in every possible direction, three men laid dead, one being Mr Van Tassel himself. Katrina screamed before fainting. 

“Philip Lester! I believe I’ve found your head.” 

The rider got off his horse and slowly walked towards him. Daniel vowed before him, presenting the velvet bag which the headless man took and opened, placing the skull above his shoulders. Flesh weaved around the bones, along with muscles, hair and other tissue slowly returning the head to its former state. Philip blinked and smiled, his fingers still attached to the sword that was dripping the blood of his victims.

“Thank you. May I know your name?”

“Daniel; Daniel Howell.” 

Philip dropped the sword and grabbed Daniel’s hand, vowing to place a kiss on it. “Thank you for helping me, Daniel”

Daniel nodded. “Are you finished terrorizing these poor people?”

“If you knew what they did to me you wouldn’t be calling them poor people - but yes. The men who took my land from me, forced me into war and killed my family off one by one while I was away are all gone. I’m bringing their heads back to hell with me.”

“Why did you go to hell?”

“I was cursed by the Van Tassel family. The father and his late wife. They separated my head from my body to perform a ritual. They were afraid that if I ascended after they killed me, I would ruin their chances. The saddest part of this is that it wasn’t even my time.”

“I’m sorry that you had to suffer such injustice during your short life.”

“What do we come to this world for but to suffer and die?” Philip smiled sadly. “May I have one last kiss?”

“Yes,” Daniel whispered. He pulled Philip by his leather outfit and kissed him hungrily until they were panting for breath. 

“Thank you, I will keep the memory of your lips on mine for all eternity. Be happy, Daniel Howell.”

\--

When Katrina finally woke up, Daniel begged her to help Philip’s soul to rest in peace. After all, her family seemed to be connected to sorcery in some form. 

She accepted and grabbed all the supplies she needed to unbind one’s tortured soul; she knew that her father was a horrible man, so she did not worry for his soul. He was right where he belonged. 

They rode one last time to Philip’s grave and dug his body up. Katrina smiled when she saw that he now looked as if he was merely sleeping. With some work and a kiss, Phil’s soul was unbound from the depths of hell, but instead of ascending to the heavens, he opened his eyes and returned to life. 

Katrina divided the land she inherited and distributed it among the farmers and families in need in Sleepy Hollow. The sun came out, finally, allowing the crops to prosper and the town to grow and attract new people. Philip finally learned about love and friendship instead of sorrow and death. Daniel never returned to London, instead the three of them changed their names and traveled around the country in search of new adventures, never to be seen in Sleepy Hollow again.

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the Im-PROMPT-u Phandom creator challenge hosted by the @phandomreversebang day 29: Pumpkin + I think I have a crush on you. Thank you to @artlessdynamite for beta reading this last minute and making sure it made sense. 
> 
> Follow me on Tumblr: [Succubusphan](http://Succubusphan.tumblr.com/)
> 
> In case you wish to reblog the fic: [Tumblr Link](https://succubusphan.tumblr.com/post/633379347896631296/sleepy-hollow)
> 
> Comments and Kudos are appreciated!!!!


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